Outplacement from the view of a departing employee
An employee’s perspective
I asked a person to write from the heart about being let go.
Are you part of a company that nurtures all of its new employees only to discard them (quite fervently) when it’s time to let them go?
Or, are you part of a company that provides an employee redundancy programme that looks after its people in an effort to help them find a new job?
I know which one I would rather be made redundant from!
With the increase of the spread and use of digital forums and social media, voicing an online opinion about a company that has laid off an employee is becoming more and more popular.
What’s more, it can be done with little (if any) repercussions to the person voicing that opinion.
As a result of this online presence, it takes little to no time at all to harm an employer brand if the employee redundancy programme has been handled badly.
Picture it this way:
Employers that don’t behave with the long term in mind ought to know that they will end up with is a vicious cycle where the loss of revenue which comes from a diminished employer brand will cause further redundancies. I can’t think of a company anywhere who wants this scenario on their hands.
How Do You Fix It?
If your company is considering an employee redundancy programme (and it doesn’t matter whether it’s on a large scale or not), then you need to focus on taking care of your employees in the same way as you did when they came on board – with dignity, with care and with positivity.
It doesn’t make any difference if the employee being laid off is a senior member of the team (the “top dog”) or a someone lower on the ‘totem pole’ – they are all human and they all deserve the same level of respect and duty of care.
Here’s a straightforward list to get you started:
- Help them develop their soft skills such as personal impact, interviewing techniques, etc.
- Provide them with online tools to make the most of their abilities – this could be Microsoft courses or Project Management tools.
- Help them secure their next job – provide access to job sites, assist them with their resume and be gracious in time off for interviews.
- Provide career coaches who have the ability to profile their personality traits– it could be that a complete change in career is what would suit them best.
There are many other options, which you could consider as part of your employee redundancy programme but this list should get you started.
The biggest thing to remember, however, is that the feelings an employee takes away when they have left your company remain with them for quite some time. Each employee who voices those feelings – whether it’s face-to-face, via an online forum or through social media – could have untold negative impacts on your employer brand.
Don’t let that happen!
Look after your employees:
- when they come in the door
- while they are in your employ, and
- when they are leaving
By doing this, your employer brand will remain high and will increase your sustainability in your industry.
To learn more about the benefits of outplacement, watch this short video.
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Learn more about Greg Weiss here.
